Coin operated device



Dec. 9, 1958 D. s. ELLIOTT 2,863,548

com OPERATED DEVICE 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 21, 1954 K COMMUNITY A lmsrnucrlous i I E 6' 5/ 1 J/"fl 3 I I" 1 g INVENTOR flan/( 2m? SJ? Z150 it ATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1958 D. s. ELLIOTT com OPERATED DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21,- 1954 INVENTOR flwzw'ehSiEllioZi' ATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1958 D. s. ELLIOTT COIN OPERATED DEVICE Filed Dec. 21, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet s '1 INVENTOR DwnielSElliott ATTORNEYS United States PatentC COIN OPERATED DEVICE Daniel S. Elliott, Bristol, Pa.

ApplicationDecember 21, 1954, Serial No. 476,750

1 Claim. (Cl. 194-49) This invention relates to a coin operated device, more particularly to a coin operated'device for advertising display or similar purposes.

For some time it has been the practice for proprietors of drugstores, community centers, and such places of public gathering, to provide a bulletin board for public use. Such bulletin boards serve the members of a community as an inexpensive mode of advertising. and serve the proprietors as an aid to customer attraction. However desirable such service may be, its success is only partial in regard to both the proprietor andmembers of the communities. Since strict maintenance'would require an unreasonable amount of time from the proprietor, the boards are generally allowed to'become overcrowded with out-dated and inactive advertisements. Variously shaped and colored scraps of paper are tacked one on top of the other without plan or order. The inevitable result is that the boards usefulness to the public is greatly diminished and it becomes an unattractive and un-businesslike eyesore to the proprietors place of business.

By my community advertising device, the bulletin boards can be replaced with an orderly and eflicient method of advertising. Responsibility for the slight effort necessary to maintenance is assumed by the distributor of the advertising device.

It is therefore the object of. my invention toprovide a community advertising device that would be attractive and businesslikein appearance andwould offer to the public an effective method of advertising at a nominal expense.

Another object of my invention isa coin-operated device to dispense and display advertising cards.

Another object of my invention is a community ad-. vertising device which can be installed and maintained in an orderly fashion at a'minimum of. effort.

Another object of my inventionis a community advertising device which is of simple and rugged construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide more effective advertisingby an orderly display which is easy to peruse and keep current.

Further and other objects will become apparent from the following specification in which like numerals refer to like parts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the. advertising device in a mounted position.

Figure 2 is afront elevational viewwith the cover-- piece removed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged side view on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 Patented Dec. 9, 1958 Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 showing a coinat operative position in respect to the empty card chamber.

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary front view showing an alternate construction of the glass panel and an advertising card.

Figure 11 is a sectional view on the line 11-11 of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary rear view of the card chamber with the addition of a counting meter.

The community advertising board is mounted as shown in Figure 1 and at greater detail in Figures 5 and 6 on the wall 3. The headboard 1 is permanently fixed on wall 3 by bolts 2. The wall 3 may be provided with sockets 4- of lead or similar material to facilitate securing bolts 2. The base frame 5 fits detachably under the flange 6 of the headboard 1 and is locked in place by bolt lock 7, which is attached by bolt portion 8 to the wall 3. A socket 9 may be provided in the wall 3 to secure bolt 8.

The base frame 5, as shown in Figure 2, consists of wall portions 20, 21, 22 and 23, and brace portions 24 and 25. Also'formed in the frame 5 are coin channels 13, 26, and 27, the plunger channel 18 and the card chamber 28.

The coin guide 12 is shown in Figure 2 as the entrance to the coin channel 13. At the lower end of coin channel 13 are coin retention pegs 14.

A coin displacement plunger 16 in an open position is shown in Figure 2 and at greater detail in Figure 3. It is provided with a slot 19 along the central portion thereof. The pin 17 engages the plunger 16 along the edges of slot 19, allowing the plunger 16 to slide backwardly and forwardly the length of slot 19, within the confines of the plunger channel 18.

A coverpiece 29, as shown in Figure 3, is fixed to the front side of the frame 5. The edges of cover piece 29 align with edges of wall portions 20, 21, 22 and 23. Flanges 30 are fixed to the cover piece 29, along the edges aligning with Wall portions 20 and 21. The flanges 30 extend fromthe bottom of cover piece 29, to a point near the top edge of cover piece 29. The top edge of cover piece 29 protrudes far enough beyond the flanges 30 to provide a seat for headboard flange 6. The flanges 30 with grooves 11 formed therein receive and hold the glass plate 10. Ribs 31 are fixed to the cover piece 29, parallel to and at equal intervals between the flanges 30. Card channels 32 are formed between the glass plate 10 and the cover piece 29.

The sides 46 and 47 of the card chamber 28 are portions of the frame 5. Likewise the top portion 42 and bottom portion 43 of the card chamber are portions of frame 5. The front of the card chamber is formed by the cover piece 29, and the back by a spring urged card backing member 33. A spring 41 is compressed between the backing member 33 and a removable latch 34.

The latch 34 is shown in Figure 7 as being a rectangularly shaped metal strap having an indentation 38 at one end. Grooves 35 and 36 are formed in bottom portion 43 and top portion 42, respectively, of the card chamber 28 and are adapted to receive the latch 34. Groove 35 is provided with a pin 37, which seats in the indentation 38, when the latch is in a locked position. Groove 36 is are shaped, thereby enabling the end of latch 34 which is received by groove 36 to be moved pivotally out of the groove, with the pin 37 functioning as a pivot point.

In Figures 3 and 5, cards 39 are shown in the card chamber 28. The cards 39 are preferably of a lamiof Figures 2, 8 and 9.

3 nated cardboard, having thickness slightly greater than the coin to be used to dispense cards.

.A card dispensing slot 40 is formed in side portion 47 adjacent to the card chamber 28.

' Formed in frame 5 is a coin storage channel 27 openizng into the card chamber 28 and emptying below wall The channel 27 is beveled wider near its opening into the card chamber 28. The junction between channels 26 and 27 is directly under pegs 14. This is to prevent coins from jamming when they do not fall directly in line with the channel 27. A removable pin 49 extends from the rear of wall 22, through coin channel 27 to the cover piece 29.

The inward side of spring urged backing member 33 has a recess 44. The bottom 45 of recess 44 slopes downwardly toward the side 46 of the card chamber 28.

The coin return channel 26, as shown most clearly in Figures 2 and 7, aligns with the recess 44 in backing member 33, when the card chamber 28 is empty and the backing member 33 is directly adjacent to the cover piece 29. The coin return channel 26 empties into a cavity 48, which is formed in the frame 5. An opening 50 in the cover piece 29 aligns with the cavity 48.

Tension springs 51 are shown in Figure l and one of the tension springs 51 is shown at greater detail in Figure 6. The tension spring 51 is attached by screw 52 to the frame 5, and protrudes through an aperture 54, in the cover piece 29, into the card channel 32 exerting a constant pressure against the card 53. As the tension spring 51 enters the card channel 32 at an upward angle, it will be appreciated that the card 53 can be moved upwardly but not downwardly.

The card dispensing phase in the operation of my invention can be most clearly followed in the sequence The coin is inserted through coin guide 12 into the coin channel 13. Coin 15a is shown in Figure 2 as moving down coin channel 13. Coin 15 is shown at rest on coin retention pegs 14. In Figure 8, the coin displacement plunger 16 is shown moved inwardly, pushing coin 15b from the coin retention pegs 14, into the card chamber 28. In the process, coin 15b pushes card 39a through card dispensing slot 40, into a position of protrusion beyond the card chamher side 47. The entire coin 15b, having been pushed within the card chamber 28, drops into coin storage channel 27. As shown in Figure 2, the coins 15d are stopped near the bottom of coin storage channel 27, by removable pin 49. When a card has been dispensed, and the desired advertisement written on it, it is inserted into one of the card channels 32. If other cards are in the channel they are pushed upwardly and supported by the last card to be inserted. The last card to be inserted is held in place by the tension spring 51.

When the card chamber is empty, as shown in Figure 9, the coin 15e is pushed into the recess 44 in backing member 33. The entire coin, being within recess 44, drops down to the sloped bottom 45 and rolls into the coin return channel 26. The coin 15f is shown in a position'of entering the coin return channel 26. The coin 15g is shown in a position of moving down coin return channel 26. Coins moving down the coin return channel 26 come to rest in the cavity 48 (shown in Figures l, 2, 4 and 7), at the bottom of the coin return channel 26, from which they can be removed through the opening 50 in the cover piece 29.

When it is necessary to replenish the supply of cards and remove the coins, the bolt lock 7 disengages the bolt 8 from socket 9. The top part of the frame 5 drops out of engagement with headboard flange 6 and the entire frame 5 is removed from a mounted position. The latch 34 is then removed from the grooves 35 and 36 allowing removal of spring 41 and back piece 33. Cards are then put into the card chamber 28. The

removable pin 49 is removed from the coin storage channel 27 allowing coins therein to drop out of the bottom. Cards which have been on display for a sufficient period of time are removed through the tops of card channels 32.

In some cases, it may be desirable to provide the cover piece with ridges 55, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, which protrude into card channel 32. The card 3% is provided with grooves 56 which correspond to the ridges 55. By this method, only cards are provided with grooves 56 will fit into the card channels 32.

Another feature, which may be desired in some cases, is shown in Figure 12. A counting meter 57 is mounted above the card chamber 28, with a pendulous arm 58 extending through the top portion 42.

The cards 39c are provided with indentations 59, which engage the lower end of pendulous arm 58. Cards 390 are completely within the card chamber. The indentation 59 of the first card engages the pendulous arm at an approximate angle, but as card 39c moves into the position of the card shown at 39d, the pendulous arm 58 is moved into the position of pendulous arm shown at 5811. As a card is removed from the card chamber 28, the pendulous arm 58 swings back into the vertical position aligned with the slot in the next cardbefore the first card is completely removed. Each motion of this type by the pendulous arm records a unit on the counting meter.

An alternate method of employing a counting meter in my invention is shown at Figure 8. The counting meter 57 is mounted below the card chamber 28 with an actuating arm 58' extending into the coin storage channel 27. Each coin that passes down the channel 27 moves the arm 58, thus recording a unit on the counting meter.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have described as my invention, a coin operated community advertising device which, while being simple in construction and easy to maintain, is attractive in appearance and elfective as an advertising means.

It is to be understood that while I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention in this specification, certain changes, alterations, modifications and substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

'A coin operated device to dispense and display cards, comprising a base frame adapted to be mounted removably on a structure, a coin receiving channel formed in said base frame, a coin storage channel formed in said base frame, a coin return channel formed in said base frame and a card chamber formed in said base frame, said card chamber intersecting said coin return channel, said coin receiving channel and said coin storage channel, said coin storage channel extending downwardly from said card chamber to a point adjacent the lower edge of said base frame, removable coin arresting means near the bottom of said coin storage channel to stop passage of coins out of said coin storage channel, coin retention means at the bottom of said coin receiving channel, a coin displacement plunger adjacent said coin retention means, retaining means to hold said plunger slidably to said base frame in a position adjacent said card chamber, positioning means in said card chamber to hold cards in position for dispensing, said positioning means including a backing member and means urging said backing member against cards in said card chamber, said backing member defining a recess, which, when all cards are removed from said chamber, aligns with said coin receiving channel and said coin return channel, whereby a coin moved into said card chamber after all cards have been removed from said card chamber falls into said recess and is thereby routed into said coin return channel, a

cover member associated with said base frame, and means to support and display cards.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dudley Sept. Van Gelder Dec Wertheimer J an Mearkle Sept. 

